Pakistan Solidarity Statement of the Alliance of Tri-People Advocates for Human Rights (ALTHAR) sent to the Pakistan Embassy in the Philippines

Collective Solidarity Statement: Free Baba Jan and all political prisoners!

Free Baba Jan and all political prisoners!Reparations for the victims of police violence!Reparations for the victims of the landslide of July 4!

Last August 11, Pakistani police used live bullets against people demanding payment of compensation allowances following a devastating landslide which had happened a year before in the valley of Hunza, on July 4, 2010. This landslide, in the region of Gilgit-Baltistan, destroyed several houses and important roads. De local administration abanoned the affected community and pocketed compensation payments intended for several affected families.

This article is the reportage of Jerome Small of Socialist Alternative (Australia) on his participation to the 3rd Asian Global Justice School in Manila.

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Commonwealth Avenue is usually 18 lanes of pounding Manila traffic, but this afternoon it is quieter. For days, the media has been advising motorists to avoid the area near the Congress building, the target of the big protest today.

It’s the morning of 25 July, 2011, and we’re standing in the humidity, waiting for the contingent of the Philippines Labor Party to come past. An open drain runs on one side of Commonwealth Avenue here and the homes of the urban poor, all rusting corrugated iron and scraps of thin ply, crowd back from the drain. We’re in Quezon City, a mainly middle class area, home to universities and government institutions, but poverty is never far away. A toddler, barely old enough to stand, is shouting excitedly, pointing at my shoes – obviously not many good black shoes in this part of town. Her family, and my companions, think it’s hilarious.

Some Notes and Reflections on the Current Philippine Situation

Richard S. Solis, IIRE-Manila, September 3, 2011

The second State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Benigno Simeon Aquino III (PNoy) last July 25, 2011 was better delivered than his first one.  That was in terms of the mastery of the language (almost 98% was in the National Language – Tagalog) and the number of applauses it got from his audience.  But in terms of context, his famous term of “wang-wang” referring to one’s blatant display of power in getting something done for one’s self interest has morphed into one’s frame of mind (utak wang-wang) in doing things to enrich or favor oneself at the expenses of others.  There was a mention on how well the economy’s performance and about the burning issue of the day – that is – the row with China on the Spratly islands and the reason of the newly acquired naval vessel from the US to protect the country’s interest against the oppression of China.  And there was a mention of the past regime’s corruption and how his (PNoy) regime has been doing something about it.  But there were no mention on the situation of the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in the light of the worsening situation in the Middle East and the North African country of Libya and surprisingly there was no substantial mention of the peace processes which in the first SONA were considered as one of the main stresses of the current administration.

This is the report for the Third Asian Global Justice School of the International Institute for Research and Education – Manila (IIRE-MANILA). As was scheduled, the school was held last July 17 to August 17, 2011 at the IIRE-Manila office. This report includes general pictures from the preparation stage, actual conduct of the school and post-school prospects. It also includes general recommendations and observations.